Golf putting cup lighting system

ABSTRACT

The golf putting cup lighting system is a regulation golf cup having an open top, a cylindrical wall and a closed bottom, the regulation cup being secured on the green. The bottom of the cup is fabricated with a light capable of shining upward through the open top. A power source is included to provide electrical power for the light. A dimmer/switch is provided to activate the light at desired times, such as dusk and nighttime. When the illuminated golf putting cup is activated, players may continue playing under low light conditions.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a regulation golf putting cup having illumination within the cup to provide a way of locating the cup in low natural lighting conditions.

BACKGROUND ART

Golf is a popular leisure time activity. However, golf is a difficult sport, requiring many hours of practice to develop a good stroke. Consequently, golfers go to driving ranges to practice driving towards the green, and some golfers have home putting greens to practice their skills at putting. In order to fit practice time into their schedules, and given the crowded schedules at commercial facilities, the golfer may be limited to practice during the early morning hours before full daylight, during twilight or early evening hours, or on overcast days when the weather isn't optimal. At such times, it can be difficult to get an accurate read on the location of the cup. It would be desirable to enable a golf player to immediately confirm the position of a flag pin and/or regulation cup location when the golf player plays at nighttime, fog, dusk, or other low natural lighting conditions.

Thus, a golf putting cup lighting system solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The golf putting cup lighting system includes a regulation golf cup having an open top, a cylindrical wall and a closed bottom, the regulation cup being secured on the green. The bottom of the cup is fabricated with a light capable of shining upward through the open top. A power source is included to provide electrical power for the light. A dimmer/switch is provided to activate the light at desired times such as dusk and nighttime. When the golf putting cup lighting system is activated, players may continue playing while being able to locate the cup under low light conditions.

These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic environmental perspective view of a first embodiment of a golf putting cup lighting system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic environmental perspective view of a second embodiment of a golf putting cup lighting system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a golf putting cup lighting system according to the present invention.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a putting cup lighting system 10 has a regulation golf cup 35 that includes an open top T, a cylindrical wall W and a closed bottom B, the regulation cup 35 being secured on the green G. The bottom B of the cup 35 is fabricated with a light 30 a capable of providing illumination LR upward through the open top T. A power source 15 provides electrical power for the light 30 a. A dimmer/switch 20 interconnects the power source 15 and electrical light 30 a via wiring 25 to activate and control brightness of the light 30 a at user desired times, whether or not pin 40 is inserted in the cup 35. The light 30 a may be an incandescent lamp, light emitting diode (LED) or the like. The dimmer/switch 20 may be manually operated or automatic, and may be any suitable electronic component such as for example, a mechanical switch and potentiometer, an integrated circuit (chip), or the like. When the illuminated golf putting cup 35 is activated, players may continue playing under low light conditions.

Alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 2, integrates functionality of light 30 a, power source 15, and dimmer/switch 20 into electronic circuitry forming an illumination module 30 b, which may be activated, for example, by contact (or removal of contact) of module 30 b with pin 40. When the illuminated golf putting cup 35 is activated, players may continue playing under low light conditions. For either embodiment having light 30 a, or illumination module 30 b, the lights may have lenses that are color coded to correspond to a particular yardage from the driving range. Also for removable cups, rechargeable battery packs may be used on the bottom of the cup.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A golf putting cup lighting system, comprising: a golf cup having an open top, a cylindrical wall and a closed bottom, the cup being disposed on a golf course; an electrical light disposed in the bottom of the cup, the light being disposed to cast illumination upward through the open top; a power source electrically connected to the light; and a switch interconnecting the power source and electrical light, the switch including a dimmer to activate and control brightness of the light at user desired times.
 2. The golf putting cup lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the electrical light includes an incandescent lamp.
 3. The golf putting cup lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the electrical light includes a light emitting diode.
 4. The golf putting cup lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the dimmer and the switch comprise a manually-operated switch.
 5. The golf putting cup lighting system according to claim 1, further comprising a circuit for operating the dimmer and the switch automatically under electronic control.
 6. The golf putting cup lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the dimmer and the switch comprise a mechanical switch.
 7. The golf putting cup lighting system according to claim 6, wherein the dimmer and the switch further comprise a potentiometer.
 8. The golf putting cup lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the dimmer and the switch comprise an integrated circuit.
 9. The golf putting cup lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the light includes lenses color-coded to correspond to a particular yardage from a driving range.
 10. The golf putting cup lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the light, said power source, said dimmer and said switch comprise an illumination module activated by contact of the illumination module with a putting pin.
 11. The golf putting cup lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the light, said power source, said dimmer, and said switch comprise an illumination module activated by removal of contact of the illumination module with a putting pin. 